New patents for supertelephoto optical formulas have appeared at the USPTO.

The range of formulas is quite vast, all the way from a new EF 300mm f/2.8L IS to a new EF 800mm f/5.6L IS design.

We do think there will be some new “big white” lenses announced in the next 12 months, not including the EF 600mm f/4 DO IS. We’ve heard from at least one person that Canon may take the EF 200mm f/2L IS back to its f/1.8 roots. Though the latter hasn’t yet been confirmed.

Maybe improvements could be made to the design not so much to improve optics but to make them cheaper to manufacture so they could be sold for less. (And/or for a greater profit). Lots of products get redesigns that do nothing for performance but instead streamline the production process.

Maybe improvements could be made to the design not so much to improve optics but to make them cheaper to manufacture so they could be sold for less. (And/or for a greater profit). Lots of products get redesigns that do nothing for performance but instead streamline the production process.

Have to be significant cost savings in manufacturing. I don't know how much it costs to set up new lens but take a guess, $500M to $1MM?? If they saved $250 on COGS they would need to sell a lot of lens.

Maybe improvements could be made to the design not so much to improve optics but to make them cheaper to manufacture so they could be sold for less. (And/or for a greater profit). Lots of products get redesigns that do nothing for performance but instead streamline the production process.

Have to be significant cost savings in manufacturing. I don't know how much it costs to set up new lens but take a guess, $500M to $1MM?? If they saved $250 on COGS they would need to sell a lot of lens.

Maybe improvements could be made to the design not so much to improve optics but to make them cheaper to manufacture so they could be sold for less. (And/or for a greater profit). Lots of products get redesigns that do nothing for performance but instead streamline the production process.

Have to be significant cost savings in manufacturing. I don't know how much it costs to set up new lens but take a guess, $500M to $1MM?? If they saved $250 on COGS they would need to sell a lot of lens.

I think your guess at set-up costs ($500M) are a bit off. If selling for $10K a pop, Canon would have to sell 50,000 lenses to gross enough (at retail, not profit) to break even on set up alone. Not reasonable.

Maybe improvements could be made to the design not so much to improve optics but to make them cheaper to manufacture so they could be sold for less. (And/or for a greater profit). Lots of products get redesigns that do nothing for performance but instead streamline the production process.

Have to be significant cost savings in manufacturing. I don't know how much it costs to set up new lens but take a guess, $500M to $1MM?? If they saved $250 on COGS they would need to sell a lot of lens.

I think your guess at set-up costs ($500M) are a bit off. If selling for $10K a pop, Canon would have to sell 50,000 lenses to gross enough (at retail, not profit) to break even on set up alone. Not reasonable.

At $1MM , by the same maths they would have to sell 100M lenses to break even.

Maybe improvements could be made to the design not so much to improve optics but to make them cheaper to manufacture so they could be sold for less. (And/or for a greater profit). Lots of products get redesigns that do nothing for performance but instead streamline the production process.

Have to be significant cost savings in manufacturing. I don't know how much it costs to set up new lens but take a guess, $500M to $1MM?? If they saved $250 on COGS they would need to sell a lot of lens.

I think your guess at set-up costs ($500M) are a bit off. If selling for $10K a pop, Canon would have to sell 50,000 lenses to gross enough (at retail, not profit) to break even on set up alone. Not reasonable.

I believe the poster meant $500,000 to $1,000,000 for set up costs, a much more realistic figure. If savings were on the order of $250 per lens, they'd still need to sell lots, but only a few thousand to recover their costs.